Committees-1

(L -> R) Carol Grimes, Richard Deming, Monica Gutfinger, Keisuke Ikehata, Sanda Sun, Rabin Lai, Bob Cohen, Bev Matsuda and Mark Hanning-Lee.

Monthly Speaker Program
Bob Cohen   cohenr@sbcglobal.net
Dr. Richard Deming   rdeming@fullerton.edu
Monthly dinner meetings with presentations on a wide range of chemistry-related topics. All members & their guests are welcome.

Education
Chair
Carol Grimes   cgrimes@gwc.cccd.edu

Secretary
Judy Bechtold   bechtoldacs@gmail.com
Since 1964 this committee has coordinated the ACS High School Chemistry Testing Program including the local ACS Olympiad tests for advanced chemistry students in March and April, and the First Year Chemistry Test in April followed by an Awards Dinner in May for both levels. The Committee also honors outstanding chemistry students from the 18 local colleges at an Awards Dinner in April. Committee members volunteer to judge projects at the Orange County Science and Engineering Fair and OCACS gives two Special Awards. National Chemistry Week activities for hundreds of elementary kids in October, and yearly Kids & Chemistry activities round out the year for this active committee.

Welcome Letter Subcommittee Chairs
The Chemistry Olympiad First-year Chemistry Tests
Committee Photo

National Chemistry Week
Carol Grimes   cgrimes@gwc.cccd.edu
National Chemistry Week (NCW) is a community-based program sponsored by the American Chemical Society (ACS). The main purpose of NCW is to stimulate the interest of young children in science and to enhance public awareness of the many ways chemistry improves the quality of our everyday lives. The Orange County Section of the ACS normally hosts the NCW celebration at the Santa Ana Zoo (in Prentice Park). Throughout the day, local colleges and universities will have tables of hands-on science activities and demonstrations for children of all ages. For details, click National Chemistry Week.

Environmental Committee
Ganesh Rajagopalan   rganesh@kennedyjenks.com
The Environmental Committee holds bi-monthly meetings with presentations on a variety of topics relating to the environment and chemistry. Our group consists of environmental scientists and engineers in academia, utilities, municipal governments, consulting firms, analytical laboratories, and other related industries. Our meetings are open to the public and are announced in advance on the Calendar.

Women Chemists Committee
Dr. Sandra Thompson   ocacswcc@gmail.com
Following our Vision (“Empowering women throughout the chemical enterprise”) the Women Chemists Committee works to attract, retain, develop, promote, and advocate for women to positively impact diversity, equity and inclusion in the Society and the profession.

Younger Chemists
Monica Gutfinger   monicagutfinger@gmail.com
Erin Joy Araneta   erinjoyara@gmail.com
The primary task of the Younger Chemists Committee is to involve younger chemists in expanding the outreach of local ACS. Activities include the organization of events at local libraries and schools to promote excitement for chemistry among younger kids. We also do work at Children’s Hospital of Orange County leading hands-on experiments with patients and their families.

Kids & Chemistry
Sanda Sun   sanda.sun@gmail.com
Kids & Chemistry is a community-based science program that brings scientists, chemistry students, children, and parents together to do hands-on science activities. We hold a number of events at the local libraries during summer and around earth day. Our goal is to give kids and their parents an opportunity to experience enriching science activities and to showcase the positive contributions that chemistry has made to our environment. For details, click Kids & Chemistry.

Government Affairs Committee
Jeffrey Church   jeff.church@jpascientific.com
The ACS works with Government to promote public policies that help the chemistry enterprise serve the nation. The Society has developed and issued over 20 public policy statements that address a range of national and global challenges through the appropriate application of chemical science and engineering. For more detail, see the webpage on ACS Positions on Policy Issues.We encourage all members to participate in the ACS Legislative Action Network (LAN). As a LAN member you will automatically receive action notices by e-mail. To join the ACS LAN go to the Act4Chemistry webpage.

Membership
Bob Cohen   cohenr@sbcglobal.net

Website
Rabin Lai   rabin@academysavant.com